526. Wilderness Tenth Anniversary Dinner.

  The Wilderness has been located down a side alley off Warstone Lane in the Jewellery Quarter for longer than was ever intended. After its move there, an old former factory and previous home to Two Cats, Big Nanny’s Jamaican Kitchen, Choolo, Toque D’Or and Restaurant Gilmore which first opened in 1997, Alex Claridge had planned to make it a temporary site for his dining establishment before moving it after a short period to somewhere more permanent. Plans fell through and The Wilderness settled in to its present site very comfortably. The restaurant had been born under another name - Nomad - on 15 November 2025 at the Urban Coffee Co. in 1 Dudley Street, close to New Street Station but was necessarily renamed as The Wilderness shortly after opening in April 2016  because of the extraordinary pressure put on Alex by a New York hotel, NoMad, which threatened to take legal action because it claimed that Claridge had taken on the hotel’s name which of course was pure nonsense.

  Right from the word ‘go’, The Wilderness caught the local press’ attention with some of the ingredients used in some of his dishes - ants, for instance, in place of citric fruits because Claridge wished to source hyper-locally and ants were readily available while lemons were not a recognised feature of West Midlands agriculture - it all got rather farcical when a friend I was dining with there asked for some lemon with his glass of tonic and was offered the only source of citrus at hand - ants - which he politely declined. Despite this extreme idiosyncrasy, now long an eccentricity of the past, the food that Claridge was serving in Dudley Street was remarkably good and a sublime lamb dish I had there remains forever in my memory.

  And so, just before Christmas 2025, I wandered through the vaguely festive streets of the Jewellery Quarter in the direction of the alley in Warstone Lane. The welcome was warm and the kitchen alight with activity. This was The Wilderness’ 10th birthday dinner and a worthy celebration it was. The theme of the dinner was old favourites reimagined and there was a surprise in the kitchen with Jonny Mills working there while he waits for his own Sāēl to be open for business. This was a tasting menu costing £150 but rather oddly called Requiem, though unusual and vaguely morbid names never come as a surprise from Alex Claridge. So Requiem it was and the meal began.

Menu signed by Ediz Engin and Alex Claridge

  Firstly, two pleasing amuses bouches - as often at The Wilderness, a croustade and a tartlet. And then Claridge’s Big Mac, a fine beef tartare dating back, according to the menu, to 2019, and delivered by Jonny Mills. Then another ever evolving Wilderness dish, the Carrot 2025, which originated in its first primitive form in 2015 and I presume, may well have been served when The Wilderness was still Nomad and also harked back to when Alex had been a chef until 2013 at the now long closed vegetarian restaurant, the Warehouse Cafe in Digbeth where I remember eating a languid and somewhat glum pak choi (I would be sure that anything so dreary had not been cooked by Alex) and resolved to loath the useless vegetable for the rest of my life. Alex had then moved on to be Development Chef at another vegetarian dining establishment, Bistro 1847 in the Great Western Arcade, before starting to do pop ups of his own food at the Kitchen Garden Cafe in Kings Heath. Presumably by the time Carrot 2015 made its first appearance, Alex had worked out just the right thing to do with a carrot.

  Then came a brilliant dish - witty, hilarious, original, delicious - Trout - Truffle - inspired by the 2016 dish, Trout & Soil. Overlying a piece of finely prepared trout lying on a bed of truffle was a pastry fish one which gave a dish of trout some great visual characterisation and on it, more truffle. This was a highlight dish of 2025.

  Next some very nicely cooked quail with a brilliantly tasty crab curry sauce. This was based on the dish NAFB which dated back to 2018 and afterwards a piece of venison as I like it - a nice pink slice with  a wholly agreeable bite to it - paired with plum and beetroot and based on Alex’s 2015 Venison and beetroot. This worked very well and shows that despite years of cooking vegetarian food by the time 2025 came around he was already a master of meat and the precise matching of ingredients.

  Next there was a small but delightful version of his 2019 white chocolate banana filled with mango which, to the best of my recall, he first served at his then other restaurant, Nocturnal Animals in Bennetts Hill (what an ingenious and fantastic surprise it was when it first made an appearance) although the menu dates it to the dish Banana 2023 which suggests that Tom Shepherd served a version of it first on The Great British Menu which is not correct. This remained a clever, meticulously prepared and delicious item to boost anyone’s spirits, even Alex’s.

  We were in the home straight. The predessert was titled sorrel and jalapeño ”cheesecake”, inspired by Claridge’s White chocolate and wasabi from 2017. The hit of heat from the jalapeño was fun though I think the description of a cheesecake even in quotes was stretching things a bit - it mildly scruffy and removed from Claridge’s usual meticulously arranged plates. But we went on and arrived at the dessert proper of Chocolate-cherry-cep inspired by the 2016 Cherry and mushroom.

This was a reflection of a former more radical Alex Claridge and was very edible though very filling and it took some to get to the end of it but the process of ingesting had been very pleasurable.

  I took my petit fours home with me, bid my Christmas farewells and happy new years and, of course, happy birthdays, enubered and was whisked home while I wondered what Alex Claridge would be presenting us with in the next 10 years.

Rating:- 🌞🌞

20 December 2025.

  Meanwhile the faces in the kitchens of Birmingham’s fine restaurants continue to shift around like tectonic plates. No sooner than they were first spotted in the kitchens of The Wilderness a few months ago, Messrs Lewis Perks, the talented pastry chef, Jordan Johnson and Evan Holliday, all late of Simpsons where the latter two were working when they appeared on Masterchef The Professionals and before they worked at Claridge’s restaurant, are now to be found working at The Fountain gastropub in Clent. That should be interesting.

Perks, Holliday and Johnson at The Fountain.

  Meanwhile at Simpsons, where a friend dines regularly, I am told by him that the restaurant manager, Steve Locklin, has now left his post there after about a year and we have already reported that the sommelier, Thomas Moore, has moved from Simpsons to Glynn Purnell’s new glitzy restaurant in Snowhill, Trillium. All of this makes it more difficult for Luke Tipping to deliver the high standard of food we have come to expect at Simpsons in recent years. Presumably many of these departures are linked to the proposed sale of Simpsons which so far does not seem to have advanced to any degree. But for now, at least, Luke Tipping ploughs on and Simpsons remains.

486. Simpsons x Land.

 

  I have dined at Land, where the Chef Patron is Adrian Luck who opened it in the Great Western Arcade in 2019. a couple of times (see Blog 180) and came away on both occasions satisfied enough but with the feeling that something was missing. I wasn’t totally convinced that an all vegetarian meal, especially when it is made up of five or six courses, is the full job.

  Simpsons offers an alternative vegetarian menu which, in the past, has been recognised as one of the best in the country. So the question clearly was, “Will input from Simpsons to Land’s offering convince me that I should be visiting a vegetarian restaurant more often?” And an evening of a Simpsons x Land collaboration might just answer that question. 

  And by the end of the evening I had my answer.

  The evening started with 2 amuses gueules - one was a rather fine pea purée tartlet clearly straight out of Luke Tipping’s kitchen and the second some tasty, spicy, crispy tempura ‘herbs’ with some tempura attached to them, their flavour derived presumably from the furikake condiment and sesame used in their preparation, They looked scruffy and had the appearance of the chef casting around for something to provide as an opening snack at a mildly exotic barbecue.

  After the reassuring and memorable bread and butter that Simpsons provides to its diners on to the starters. Tipping’s contributation was a quite fabulous plate of what on the menu were described as Evesham tomatoes although they were described as Isle Of Wight tomatoes by the waiter. They were accompanied by a herb salad and were full of delightful sweetness. Then Land’s starter which might better have been its main course - a very toothsome and authentic-tasting massaman curry containing salt baked pineapple, peanuts giving it a satay element and nicely cooked jasmine rice.  This was quite delicious and as enjoyable an example of this curry as one might find in an authentic Thai restaurant. The absence of meat mattered not at all and everything was looking grand.

   Sitting by the long window it was easy to look out on to Simpsons’ pleasing garden, refreshed after some much needed rain, and feel that all was well with the world. Simpsons’ contribution to the main course pairing was its familiar, highly enjoyable heritage beetroot dish with its various presentations of the vegetable nicely complemented with a hit of wasabi. It looked as elegant as any beetroot dish might ever look. 

 It has to be said that Land’s main course also looked elegant and promising. The promise was not realised. This was a slab of grilled cauliflower sans the deep cauliflower flavour which for me makes it an exciting item to eat. The cauliflower provided only texture and nothing more though its presentation had been worked on to jazz it up. There was verjuice caviar, the flavour of which was lost in the wild garlic sauce with dashi which itself had little impact on my tastebuds. I felt that you can do all the molecular gastronomy and emulsions you want but a slab of cauliflower is just a slab of cauliflower and it is unlikely to ever be a star in the firmament.

  Simpsons provided a delicious and exciting dessert - two nice mango ravioli tickled by Espelette pepper and a hit of kaffir lime chantilly cream. This was very enjoyable in contrast to the final dessert which was an unremarkable cube of almond cake, a satisfactory sponge with no discernible flavour of almond served with strawberry ice cream and a white chocolate crumb. Regrettably it seemed that this second dessert barely rose above what a competent domestic cook could achieve.

  Luke Tipping has got a grip on producing very fine, delicious vegetarian dishes as part of his repertoire served at Simpsons. It is elegant and tasty and impressive. Land, much loved by the city’s vegetarian/vegan crowd, produces adequate dishes for those who are convinced that fish, meat or fowl are not for them and so Land has its necessary audience though I will not be sitting in the stalls with them.

4 June 2025.

  As a follow up to Blog 485, it’s worth recording that I was invited to join friends for an early evening dinner at the Wildmoor Oak Inn just 4 days after enjoying Sunday lunch there. At the beginning of June the menu has been revised and the pub’s very popular scotch egg has been restored to the list of dishes available. This proved to be a tasty light dish made particularly enjoyable crispy coating around the egg. The accompanying piccalilli was profoundly, addictively piquant and proved impossible not to eat, even that which remained after tge egg itself had been totally consumed.

  Once more, I could not resist the haddock and chips (both of which are some of the finest in the world, I’m sure) which came with an excellent mild tartare sauce, a nice fish and chip shop curry sauce just right for chip dipping and Chef’s very acceptable mushy peas.

  For dessert I chose banoffee parfait which had a good flavour and, I thought, was precisely textured and with it came vanilla ice cream, a salted caramel sauce and dried banana slices which were a little too hard to be enjoyed - better to have used slices of fresh banana.

   One of my fellow diners chose a main course of cheese burger which also came with the pub’s superb chips and pronounced themself well satisfied with their meal apart from the slight feeling that the burger was just a little too salty for their taste.

A lovely location, excellent food and at a very good price. Surely the Wildmoor Inn deserves a Bib Gourmand.

Rating:- 🌞.

5 June 2025.

482. Great Brummie Menu, Birmingham College Of Food.

 

  This was the second year of The Great Brummie Menu, held at the Birmingham School of Food, part of University College of Birmingham, which was a charity event on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I had been unable to attend the first event but was delighted to go this year’s which featured Liam Dillon of The Boat in Lichfield, Luke Tipping of Simpsons, Jonathan Howe of Lumière in Cheltenham, Glynn Purnell of The Mount in Henley in Arden and Darryl Collins, pâtissier at Resorts World at the National Exhibition Centre who had previously worked at the Lygon Arms in Broadway among other locations. The event was attended by about 90 diners and preced by a sparkling wine reception with some decent canopés.

  Liam Dillon was the first chef to present his work to the diners and it took the form of some passable Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes served nicely with an unaggressive goats cheese, herbs from the garden of The Boat and, most delicious of all, some very toothsome smoked eel. A good start though heritage tomatoes served nicely dishes are a great risk unless every presented tomato is packed with flavour.

  Luke Tipping served up a remarkable scallop dish - a variant on the numerous scallop dishes I have enjoyed at Simpsons over the years. The plump and well cooked scallop was served with the mild bitterness of chicory, the invigorating thrill of lemon, the savouriness of sauce épicée and sesame. A very fine dish, the best course of the whole meal.

  In contrast, I am sad to write that the main, a particularly small piece of nicely cooked Creedy Carver duck (though I can see that some might have felt it was somewhat over) served with a terribly soggily coated bonbon of dry and almost inedible duck meat (how lovely it might have been with a nice crispy coat on the bonbon) along with Cheltenham beetroot about which it was difficult to build up any enthusiasm and various purées, one of which was said to be fennel but which I found difficult to identify. I don’t think Jonathan Howe was having the best of days. Next came Glynn Purnell’s ‘10-10-10 Egg surprise’ alongside its ideal companion - strawberries and tarragon including a lovely strawberry ice cream. Purnell, I felt, had not lost his touch. 

  Finally from Darryl Collins a chocolate dessert which is best described as “safe” though nicely done.

  To close, five different mignardises including a macaron, a well made pate de fruits, a cracknel, a truffle and a Turkish delight. Each petit four was thoroughly enjoyable and the same could be said for the accompanying wines which were donated by Arch 13 Wine Bar. 

  This was a happy evening held for a good cause with the guest chefs donating their precious time and energy. Matt Davies played a large part in making the event occur. He had been cmployed as Andreas Antona’s first apprentice at Simpsons after it had moved to Edgbaston. He eventually became Executive Chef for the Lewis Partnership in Staffordshire which included the Moat House at Acton Trussell where unfortunately in 2018 he was seriously injured in an electrical accident necessitating long running treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was now the Vice President of the British Culinary Federation. The Great Brummie Menu was a way for him to thank the hospital for the treatment he had received there and a sum of £17,000 was raised during the evening to support the Queen Elizabeth.

  I was saddened by a note on the back page of the menu which stated, “In loving memory of Wayne Thomson 22/09/1971 - 12/04/2025”. I had dined very happily a number of times at Wayne Thomson’s excellent Michelin-listed No. 9 Church Street in Stratford upon Avon. He was a hard working man who cooked extremely enjoyable dishes and his small restaurant was a charming delight. It was a sad event when the restaurant failed to reopen after the COVID-19 lockdowns though Wayne continued to work in the catering industry. Ars longa vita brevis.

  Finally, for the record - the first Great Brummie Menu was held at the School of Food on 21 May 2024 with the guest chefs being Luke Tipping, Adam Bennett of The Cross in Kenilworth, Jonathan Howe, Thom Bateman of the Flintlock at Cheddleton in Staffordshire and Louisa Ellis.

480. The Last Sunday Lunch At Simpsons - The Beef Wellington.

 

 The hospitality business being what it is at present, it was announced a short while ago that with bookings not being quite as numerous as they might be, this was to be the last Sunday lunch served at Simpsons - at least for the foreseeable future. And at last I had someone to join me at Sunday lunch there so that I could order the somewhat celebrated Simpsons beef Wellington. And, who knows if Simpsons’ Sunday lunch will ever return given that Andreas Antona has put the business up for sale? The end, or the possible end, of an era. All things must pass …. eventually.

  The Sunday lunch went out in style. Firstly, two familiar amuses gueules - no less delicious for their familiarity - both very toothsome indeed - and this also applied to the equally familiar and equally excellent bread though as always, I would have preferred plain, ordinary salted butter to spread on the breads and this was kindly supplied was requested.

  I had the scallop dish which had been cooked beautifully and served with its beurre blanc sauce in a delightfully retro fashion in a scallop shell. The tender mollusc had a remarkably enjoyable butteriness to it and there was little else that could have been done to improve the dish. There was much apparent simplicity about it and it did not suffer because of this. My companion thoroughly enjoyed her beetroot starter.

  Then came the presentation of the Wellington. It looked magnificent and its service did not disappoint. The beef was accurately cooked inside its surrounding cover of mushroom duxelle and fine pastry. Its companions were a very sensibly sized serving of pomme purée, a dish of happy cauliflower with cheese sauce, stunningly delicious, sweet, tender carrots and confit cabbage and a fine red wine sauce. This was a memorable dish served on a memorable occasion at a memorable restaurant.

    Dessert was not an afterthought. My lunch companion was overwhelmed with pleasure at her excellent passion fruit soufflé and I was impressed, more than I expected (though I should have known better) by the caramelised miso tart served with a splendidly tasty blood orange sorbet. 

  The mignardises - a chocolate cracknell decorated with a pattern of the tiles in Simpsons, powerfully flavoured blackcurrant pate de fruit and gorgeously buttery madeleines - rounded off a first class meal at a first class restaurant. Long may it keep serving such magnificent food to the diners of Birmingha.

Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞.